The Night Is For Stargazing
by thorn-bird
Summary: P/J sappy fluff. You know I couldn't stay Penny/Gavin for long! Just a little Penny/Jake Vignette. Follows nothing, precedes nothing. Just a bit of an attempt at sappy AU fun.


Title: The Night Is For Stargazing  
  
By: Megs  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Category: Penny/Jake (ya'll knew I couldn't stay P/G forever!), slightly AU  
  
Summary: Just a little Penny/Jake Vignette. Follows nothing, precedes nothing. Just a bit of an attempt at sappy AU fun.  
  
Archive: Just let me know where so I can visit  
  
Feedback: hobbit_kisser@hotmail.com  
  
Notes (PLEASE READ): I dedicate this to Callie, who would have me hanged if I wrote one more Penny/Gavin fic!!! Also, the timeline is a bit screwed up. I mean, this takes place at no particular time, it's a bit AU. Oh, and thanks to Starr, whose unhealthy obsession with Ewan McGregor inspired the couple at the end *smirks*  
***  
It was a night for stargazing.  
  
It was a night for curling up beside your loved one underneath a fleece blanket and staring up at the sky, leaving your hand outside of the blanket just long enough to point out the big dipper to the one beside you.   
  
You would have to yank it back in quickly, because this was that kind of night where the sky is clear, so there are no clouds to conceal the heat.  
  
This was the kind of night where the children would stay outside to play longer than they normally would, wearing nothing but sweaters, their noses and cheeks all rosy from running into the coldness.   
  
It was the kind of night where their mothers would have to call them three times to come inside, and when they finally did come, they would get cozy in their pajamas in their warm homes, in their parents' laps.  
  
And after the children were gone, the lovers under the blanket would kiss and hold each other close, bathed in moonlight.  
  
Sometimes it wasn't even lovers, it was just one quiet woman in a coat, on top of a blanket, reading a book. She would catch the eye of one quiet man, and they could gaze at the stars together, and neither would have to feel alone.   
  
Yes, it was a night for stargazing.  
  
And Jake Silver was behind his desk in a stuffy office, hand in chin, trying to stay awake as he stared down at the papers in front of him.  
  
He was alone, with nothing but the dim glow of his desk lamp illuminating what he was attempting to work on.  
  
Well, not completely alone.   
  
His assistant lay on his couch, back to him, face in the cushions to cover her slight snoring.  
  
He'd tried waking her up several times, but she wouldn't budge.   
  
Finally, when it got too distracting, he said loudly, "Penny, get up. I know you're faking it."  
  
"Am not."  
  
"Penny, I have work to do. Those noises you're making are distracting me."  
  
She rolled over onto her back and put her bare feet on the floor, slipping them into her sandals, which he'd slid off a few hours ago. She was leaving dirty shoe prints all over the deep green leather, and he wasn't in the mood to clean it up.  
  
Actually, it hadn't been the couch he'd been worried about. She looked rather uncomfortable and he'd taken the liberty of draping her sweatshirt over her and removing the sandals off of her feet, and certainly after that she wasn't curled in a pitiful ball, with chunky shoes digging into her ass.  
  
She checked her watch, peeked out through the shades, and circled around to the drawstrings, pulling them until the moon and stars leaked in through the window.   
  
He ignored her until she swept over and clicked off his light, at which point he exclaimed, "Hey!"  
  
Everything became dark, but the moon and stars shone in on them like a planetarium, leaving small white lights on their faces and arms.  
  
"Wow, it's such a beautiful night." Jake observed.  
"What are you, a girl?"   
  
He gave her a look. "Even you can't deny that's a little romantic."  
"You're right," she said thoughtfully. "The thought of women dressing up as men is such a turn--"  
  
"I was talking about the stars," he interrupted her.   
"Yeah, yeah." She muttered, tugging her sweatshirt on and picking her purse up off of the end of the couch.  
  
"Hey, why did you open the window anyway?"   
"You need it. You're beginning to look like a maniac, stuck inside without any natural light, plotting on how to get Dylan."  
  
"And I've almost got it, too."  
  
She snorted. "Yeah, how wonderful that is."  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing."   
  
"Penny…"  
"What?"   
  
"Why…do you…I mean…"  
  
She swung her purse over her shoulder. "Okay, I'm going now."  
He stood up and circled around the desk. "Penny, wait, look, it's a beautiful night…I don't want to be cooped up here, you're going home…I don't know, do you want to go get a drink?"  
  
"What, like a date?" she asked, seemingly amused.  
  
"No," he said quickly. "No, no, no, no, no…just…drinks. I don't feel like being stuck here anymore."  
  
She thought for a moment, before a sly smile spread across her face. "Yeah. Okay."   
  
He smiled too. "Okay."  
  
She left his office, but he stayed behind, staring out into the night sky.  
  
She swung back in. "Jake, I'm not gonna stick around for your Sleepless In Seattle romance stargazing crap. You can save that for Dylan."  
  
His eyes shifted down to the ground outside his office. "Look, Penny."   
  
She groaned and trudged back in, joining him in front of the window. They stared out the window together.   
  
"Aw," she said sarcastically. "How cute, those two dogs are getting it on."  
"No," he said. "Look."   
  
Jake pointed to a couple, sitting on a nearby bench, in a tight embrace. The man held a small box containing an engagement ring, and his partner had obviously just said yes.  
  
"Makes you all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it." Penny said bleakly.  
"Yeah." He said, sighing.   
  
She stared at him, getting those ga-ga feelings that she didn't like. They were frequent when Jake was around, and it pissed her off to no end.  
  
Damn it all.   
  
He caught her looking at him, another thing that pissed her off.   
  
She turned quickly away. "Come on, let's go."  
  
But he caught her cheek and pulled her in toward him, pulling off her glasses and placing them down on his desk. He captured her mouth in his in one swift motion.  
  
As the kiss grew deeper, she brought her hand up to his shoulder. He kept his hand on her cheek, stroking hair back from her face as he timidly explored her mouth.   
  
After a moment, they each pulled back, and he stared into her eyes. It wasn't often he saw her without those tacky poindexter glasses.  
  
She cleared her throat. "Well…okay. I'll drive."   
  
She disappeared out the door, and Jake Silver, with a stupid grin on his face, looked out the window, up into the perfectly clear Miami sky.   
  
Yes, it was a night for stargazing. For lovers. It was a night to be children again, it was a night to resist the ordinary, and it was a night to get cozy with someone you love. It was a night for new beginnings.  
  
It was a night for stargazing.  
***  
Fin  
*** 


End file.
